Vous êtes sur la page 1sur 26

IT Career Paths

Nadeem A. Malik
Vice President
Strategy & Corporate Development

www.infotech.com.pk
My IT Career Path
VP
Founder/CEO INFOTECH
nAXIS.com
Founder/CEO “after partial retirement”
iWAYS

Resident Director
CMBDC-USA
Manager Design
PEA- USA

Design Eng
Geometric Design
CMBDC-USA
NESPAK System Engineer
PEA - USA

•Career paths do not need to be straight


•You can jump from one area to another
•You can jump (up/down/sideways) the corporate ladder

www.infotech.com.pk
Myths and Realities
Myth: I will stop coding after 3 years
Reality: Good engineers code till death
Myth: I will be a project manager after 4 years
and “communicate with people”
Reality: Not everyone can evolve into a
project manager and “communicate”
Myth: Fancy Titles mean a lot
Reality: Fancy Titles mean NOTHING, unless
you can live up to them

www.infotech.com.pk
Myths and Realities
Myth: If I work for a product company I will be fixing
bugs for the rest of my life i.e. no growth
Reality: Product companies are the fastest to evolve
with new technologies i.e. fast growth
Myth: Product companies die very quickly
Reality: Product companies that do not innovate, die
quickly
Myth: I should not move down the corporate ladder
Reality: You need to move within
(up/down/sideways) the corporate ladder to keep
learning

www.infotech.com.pk
Myths and Realities
Myth: Big companies with big names means good
work. Small companies means uninteresting work.
Reality: A good company starts with a good idea.
Doesn't matter what the size of the company is.
Myth: Just technical people are enough to get
projects delivered.. who needs communication
skills
Reality: Cool technology does not sell. You need
business acumen to make technology successful

www.infotech.com.pk
Career groups within software companies

CEO

Product Sales Business Development Marketing

Software Development Quality Assurance Systems Admin and Tech Support

www.infotech.com.pk
Software Development

Engineering Director
Manager Engineering
Software Technical
Engineer Lead

Sr. Software
Engineer

Software Chief CTO


Architect Architect

www.infotech.com.pk
Quality Assurance

QA Engineer QA Lead

Sr. QA Engineer QA Manager

www.infotech.com.pk
Graphics and User Experience

Graphics/Web Information Director


Designer Architect User Experience

User Interface Manager UX


User Interaction and Design
Designer

www.infotech.com.pk
Technical Writing

Technical Publications
Writer Manager

Sr. Technical
Writer

www.infotech.com.pk
Project Manager

Project Manager

•Project Management does not have a career path


•You can transition in and out of the Project Managers role

www.infotech.com.pk
Product Management

Associate Sr. Product Manager


Product Manager

Product Manager Director


Product Development

www.infotech.com.pk
Systems Engineering and Technical Support

Technical Support Manager Dir. Support and


(external) Professional Services (external)
IT Administrator Systems/Support Engineer
(internal) (internal/external)

CIO

System Administrator
(internal)

IT Operations Manager Dir. IT Operations


(internal)

www.infotech.com.pk
Sales
Associate Sales Executive Director Sales

Sales Executive VP Sales

Sales Engineer

Technical Sales Engineer

www.infotech.com.pk
Marketing and Business Development

Product Marketing VP Marketing


Manager

Director Marketing

Business Development VP Business Development


Manager

Director
Business Development

www.infotech.com.pk
Moving from one career path to another

QA Engineer
Software Engineer Associate Product Manager
Sales Engineer

Product Manager Product Manager

QA Manager Project Manager QA Manager

Technical Lead Engineering Manager

QA Manager

Product Marketing Manager


Product Manager
Sales Engineer

Business Development Manager

www.infotech.com.pk
Career Guidance
9 Make the transition from the world of academia
to the world of work
9 Career development is a life long process
9 Career selection is a combination of
Âpsychological,
Âsociological,
Âeducational,
Âphysical, and
Âeconomical choice factors

www.infotech.com.pk
Selecting a career

9 Self Assessment - discover your strengths

9 Explore Career Options

9 Find a suitable match between

the Jobs available and your strengths

www.infotech.com.pk
Self Assessment

9What does success mean to you?


- Lots of Money
- Power & Authority
- Knowledge/Leadership
9What do your parents want you to be?
9What do you want to be?
9Do you have a hobby?
9Do you enjoy the company of others?
9Do you read newspapers regularly?
9Do you plan for the next 5-6 years?

www.infotech.com.pk
Self Assessment

9What interests you?


- Programming?
- Testing?
- Mathematics?
- Social Science?
9What are your non-academic interests?
- Outdoor games?
- Indoor games?
- Computer games?
9What do you read in your spare time?
- Technical books?
- Fiction/Novels?
- Urdu/English Literature?
- Biography of great people?

www.infotech.com.pk
Look for Career Options

9 Do you know what career options are


available to you?
9 What are the pros and cons of each career
option?
9 Which skills are hot, and which are not?
9 What characteristics are required to get a
job?

www.infotech.com.pk
Qualities you need

Managerial Skills Personality


9 Leadership Qualities 9 Attitude
9 Dedicated
9 Judgment / Decision Making
9 Disciplined

9 Staff Management & 9 Good inter-personal skills


Motivation 9 Team player
9 Planning Ability

9 Initiative

www.infotech.com.pk
Qualities you need to grow

Work Related Communications Skills

9 Sense of Responsibility 9 Verbal

9 Performance under 9 Written


Pressure
9 Job knowledge 9 Public Speaking
9 Quality of Work 9 Brainstorming

9 Efficiency
9 Punctuality

www.infotech.com.pk
Career Tips

• Find a mentor –it does not have to be your boss

• It takes more than 2 months to get your feet wet

• Jumping companies hurts you more than you think

• Don’t be a “Yes Man”.

• Don’t be afraid to fail. If you’re not failing you’re


not learning.

www.infotech.com.pk
Career Tips
• Don’t be afraid to voice your opinion
• Don’t expect people to hand hold and teach
you. Pick up a book and read.
• Companies are not built by people, they are
built by teams – share your knowledge
• Don’t be told what to do. Innovate.
• Balance growth with job security.
• Learn to Learn.

www.infotech.com.pk
Thank You

Nadeem A. Malik
nadeem.malik@infotech.com.pk

www.infotech.com.pk

Vous aimerez peut-être aussi